Local private schools seek to open up students' university
options in the United States and Mexico

Students attending private, bilingual (English-Spanish) schools in
Mexico have a distinct advantage in today's world. Not only do they
study two languages and learn to adapt to two different cultures, they
are also eligible to enroll in either Mexican or U.S. universities when
they graduate. The challenge for these private schools, however, has
been to decide which curriculum and accreditation process they should
follow to best serve their students, whether they plan to go to college
here or in the United States. The answer, more often than not, has been
to attain accreditation by the governments of both countries. This may
mean twice the workload for students, but it also gives them more
options once they graduate.

NEW ACCREDITATION

In 1993, former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari made middle
school, known in Spanish as secundaria, obligatory in order to improve
education levels in Mexico. As a result, private bilingual secundarias
that had previously been accredited by the National Autonomous
University of Mexico, were obligated to seek accreditation from the
Public Education Secretariat (SEP) as well. While this change came under
the Salinas administration, most of the country's bilingual,
bicultural schools are only now going through the SEP accreditation
process (which varies from state to state) because accreditation
hadn't been enforced until recently. Since many private schools
want their students' education to be recognized in Mexico as well
as in the United States, they are now applying for SEP recognition for
their secundarias.

One example of a private school that has faced the accreditation
question is the American School in Mexico City. Since opening its doors
in 1888, the American School has historically catered to the U.S.
community in Mexico. The importance of learning English and
understanding U.S. culture has grown, however, and many Mexican parents
interested in providing their children with a U.S. education have
started sending their children there as well.

The American School thus found itself serving students with
different interests and intentions. In order to ensure that its program
would be accepted in the United States, the American School received
accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). With SACS recognition, students have no problem transferring to
U.S. schools or applying for college in the United States and other
countries. This accreditation also benefits Mexican students who are
interested in studying in the United States.

Not all students want to further their education abroad, however.
Many Mexican, American and international students want to study a U.S.
program in elementary and secondary school, but prefer to attend a
Mexican university.

As a result, the American School offers two programs, one from the
United States and one from Mexico, and many students opt to take both.
Maria Teresa Olavarrieta, Spanish Coordinator and Technical Director at
the American School, says that in the American School's elementary
school program, students must strictly follow the SEP curriculum. Once
they reach middle school, the American School has a special agreement
with the SEP that considers it a foreign body with SACS accreditation
and allows it limited autonomy.

The program has been so successful that several other
English-language private schools in Mexico are following their lead in
an effort to provide students with as many educational options as
possible.

SERVING DIFFERENT INTERESTS

Having achieved dual accreditation, private schools try to maintain
a balance between their Mexican and American programs while showing an
equal respect for both.

"We live in both worlds," says Dr. Robert W. Trent,
general director of the American School in Guadalajara. "We
can't ignore Mexican [curriculum] because it is important to our
students, but we also need to deal with our U.S. constituency."

Westhill, another private, bicultural school, faces the same
challenges.

Jerry McGee, headmaster and chancellor of Westhill, says,
"giving courses such as Mexican History in Spanish (in K through
12) makes it difficult for our international students who don't
speak the language. Still, we are doing the best we can to satisfy both
SACS and the SEP."

For parents who wish to send their children to private schools, it
is worth studying the accreditation plan of each institution to ensure
that students have all options open to them when it comes to furthering
their education. Students who take on the challenge of completing a
double curriculum graduate with the advantages of being both bilingual
and bicultural, something increasingly important in today's
business environment.

Rhona Statland de Lopez is the education columnist for The Mexico
City News and Mexico Correspondent for The Chronicle of Higher
Education.

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